Syrian violence contributed to a sharp rise in
the number of journalists killed for their work in 2012, as did a series of
murders in Somalia. The dead include a record proportion of journalists who
worked online. A CPJ special report

Murder is the leading cause of work-related deaths among
journalists worldwide--and this year was no exception. But the death toll in
2012 continued a recent shift in the nature of journalist fatalities worldwide.
More journalists were killed in combat situations in 2012 than in any year since
1992, when CPJ began keeping detailed
records.

Almost half of the 67 journalists killed worldwide in 2012 were
targeted and murdered for their work, research
by the Committee to Protect Journalists shows. The vast majority covered
politics. Many also reported on war, human rights, and crime. In almost half of
these cases, political groups are the suspected source of fire. There has been
no justice in a single one of these deaths.

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New York, December 17, 2012--Iraqi security forces shut down two broadcast
outlets on Friday for alleged administrative violations, according to news
reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Iraqi authorities to
allow the stations to resume broadcasting immediately.

The tortured
and decapitated body of 39-year-old María
Elizabeth Macías Castro was found on a Saturday evening in September
2011. It had been dumped by the side of a road in Nuevo Laredo, a Mexican
border town ravaged by the war on drugs. Macías, a freelance journalist, wrote
about organized crime on social media under the pseudonym "The Girl from Laredo." Her murder, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, was the first in which a journalist was killed in direct
relation for reporting published on social media. It remains unsolved.

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New York, July 18, 2012--Two Iraqi journalists living in Syria and covering
the conflict in that country were killed on Saturday although news reports
differed on crucial details. The Committee to Protect Journalists continues to
investigate the circumstances of the deaths, which come amid reports of
increasing violence toward Iraqis living in Syria.

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New York, May 9, 2012--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns
two official attacks on journalists working in Iraqi Kurdistan, including the
assault on a television news crew and the arrest of an editor whose articles
alleged corruption. CPJ also calls for an investigation into a car bombing that
wounded a journalist in Baghdad.

CPJ's María Salazar-Ferro names the 12 countries where journalists are murdered regularly and governments fail to solve the crimes. Where are leaders failing to uphold the law? Where are conditions getting better? And where is free expression in danger? (4:46)

New York, April 4, 2012--Iraqi journalist Kamiran Salaheddin was
killed when a bomb attached to his car exploded late Monday, according to news
reports. CPJ is investigating the circumstances of the attack to determine
whether it was related to his work.